So, sure: WordPress is a CMS. I think it’s sometimes the answer given as a defense against the cynical question: “What’s WordPress still good for these days?”
It’s a pretty great CMS, honestly. But what if we don’t focus on the CMS aspect so much. I think there are more imaginative ways to think about the opportunities WordPress provides.
Because beneath the templating and posts and menus, WordPress is something far more powerful: it’s a runtime (and by runtime I mean the sense of the word that conveys framework or platform). I tweeted this thought yesterday but, alas, I had more thoughts on the subject, so today we’re blogging.
WordPress has a built-in database, user authentication, routing, a REST API, and the ability to conditionally load resources or change output based on server state or user state. There’s all the makin’s of application logic in there.
Please Embrace the Today’s WordPress, Please
The problem is, most WordPress sites still treat it like it’s 2011. We build themes, add a few forms, maybe install a member plugin—and that’s it. (Not that there’s anything wrong with member plugins–the PeakZebra site uses one.)
A WordPress site gives you a pretty solid authentication setup, one that’s been battled tested on a ridiculously large set of sites in the wild. The fact that WordPress sites get compromised sometimes (though, to be honest, this generally isn’t about the way authentication works in WP, but is either password guessing or other problems (insecure plugins) that have nothing to do with authentication.
Want to add two-factor authentication? People have already packaged that up in plugins.
Or consider API’s. Yes, it’s cool that the CMS side of WordPress offers full access via REST, but I’d say it’s even cooler that it gives you a framework where it’s very quick and easy to add as many other application-specific REST endpoints as you’d like. You can make them public, but you can also make them private and, hey presto, WordPress takes care of the security so you don’t have to.
If you start thinking of WordPress as the foundation for an actual application, a whole world opens up: dynamic interfaces, persistent user flows, personalized content, and client-specific tools—without abandoning the platform you already know.
WordPress isn’t “just a CMS.” It’s a bigger deal than that.